KINGSTON, JAMAICA, April 15, 2025– After a hugely successful inaugural event in New York in November of last year, SIM Soul Sessions, The Diaspora Edition heads to Florida for a highly anticipated second staging on Tuesday, May 13. The event is an offshoot of the popular television show, SIM Soul Sessions, conceptualized, executive produced and hosted by Jamaican media personality, Simone Clarke-Cooper, who has been a broadcaster in Jamaican media – radio and television – for over 30 years.
SIM Soul Sessions started in June of 2020, and almost immediately became embedded in the hearts of Jamaicans in and outside of Jamaica. “It was launched during COVID, when people needed hope and inspiration, and that’s what we were giving in unlimited supply,” Clarke-Cooper disclosed. The programme was created to provide a safe space for persons to share their stories of trial to triumph and struggle to success without the stigma and judgement that so often abounds.
In the nearly five years since the programme has been on Television Jamaica, 1spotmedia.com and uploaded to YouTube, it has become appointment television for viewers not only in Jamaica, but across the diaspora, and has changed the narrative and the discourse surrounding mental health in Jamaica in both spaces. In December of last year, further evidence of the show’s popularity outside Jamaica’s shores was given, when Simone was recognized by Jamaicans.com as the Media Personality of the Year, because of the success and impact of SIM Soul Sessions.
Simone Clarke-Cooper, Executive Producer
“The show’s success with Jamaicans living outside Jamaica presented a very unique opportunity,” Clarke-Cooper said. The back-end data for SIM Soul Sessions shows me that 30% of the viewing audience is in the United States of America. Canada and the UK also represent well, with the Caribbean region also tuning in, and viewers showing up as far away as Africa. There are so many Jamaicans outside Jamaica, representing excellence every single day. I wanted to use this platform to share their stories, too. That’s how the Diaspora Edition of SIM Soul Sessions was born,” she added.
The inaugural staging of the event was held in November of last year, and featured Jamaica’s Consul General to New York, Alsion Wilson and Dr Sandra Lindsay, Health Practitioner, and the first person to receive the COVID vaccine in the United States. The event, which saw the Consulate Event Room in Manhattan at capacity, received rave reviews, with the interviewees and guests alike commending the programme for highlighting Jamaica’s legacy of excellence in this way, recognizing and lauding our own.
The second staging of the SIM Soul Sessions – Diaspora Edition will be held on Tuesday, May 13 at the Banquet Hall of the Miramar Cultural Centre in Florida. That highly anticipated event will feature the outstanding City of Miramar Commissioner, Carson ‘Eddy’ Edwards, and Attorney at Law Kasyia Earley, sharing their inspiring stories. The event, which starts at 6pm with cocktails, and the formalities at 7pm, and is open to the public.
“I am honoured to facilitate the sharing of the stories of great Jamaicans, and grateful for the creation of a loyal, supportive and engaged community through the creation of SIM Soul Sessions. The Diaspora Edition format gives me a chance to meet them, see them, shake hands and hug them and say thank you! To have them choose to physically leave their homes to come and be a part of this event. I know they will leave inspired,” Clarke-Cooper said, adding that she plans to have at least one more SIM Soul Sessions event outside Jamaica this year.
